Manufacturer says:

The top selling womens shoe, the Elektra offers an amazing combination of comfort, performance and value. Ideal for beginners to advanced climbers, these shoes perform in the gym and on the rock.

Editor's Review

Buying Advice, Tips and FAQs

Consumer Reviews

Liz Law commented on 06-Nov-2013 01:56 PM

Let's face it. If you are looking at this shoe you are unlikely to be the most pro climber out there. I'm certainly not (not yet, anyway). But after finally accepting that my first pair of rock climbing shoes (some second hand La Sportiva Mythos) were virtually disintegrating around my feet, I needed something, and frankly didn't have the budget to go any higher.

I liked the velcro, with most of my climbs being single to short multi pitch, and some training including bouldering, this was one of my "must have" attributes. And it has not disappointed. Particularly as these are now sized "correctly" (read: on the border of painfully tight), being able to slip these off and on make for a happy me.

I also love the shape - not super aggressive, but a relatively stiff last, and a pretty neat edge and point to the toe means that tiny little footholds become staircases. And being a shorty, I certainly use a lot of little holds that others pass on. It smears pretty good too, though admittedly I'm still so happy about the edges that I hardly smear outside anymore.

I was skeptical about the synthetic though. Would it be sweaty? Would it stretch too much? Would it not stretch enough?

The first outing at Smith Rock, in May, suggested that yep, they're pretty hot. Was fine for single pitch, but when going for a multi I was pretty keen to take them off at the end. I am a bit of a sweat box though. Even at Stone Hills, Montana in October (pretty cold), my feet would start to sweat a little and occasionally slip a bit. However, on a freezing day up on Lizard Range, near Fernie BC, I discovered that they are indeed pretty warm - my feet at the end of a four pitch in occasional rain were warm to the touch, while my partner needed a heat pack. Bonus, for me anyhow, as most of my climbing now is in cooler places!

And after 6 months of climbing mostly 1-2 times a week, they've stretched out to become comfortable (or as comfortable as climbing shoes can be). I can now keep them on for indoor bouldering sessions of ~2 hours.

Overall, unless you are a sweat box in a tropical area, these are great value, surprisingly comfortable and deliver a pretty neat performance. I'd make the same choice again.

Chase Hartley commented on 06-Mar-2014 04:03 PM

This is a great entrance shoe. You're not going to be doing any comps or crazy routes in these, but they'll be there for you when you're learning footwork.

We've done lots of slab work with these and the toes have held up great and provide a good amount of support. The shoe obviously does not have a very aggressive down turn on them. We've seen them do pretty well with crack climbs and multi-pitch climbs as well.

These shoes stretch a little bit, but they haven't stretched too much so you want to stay pretty true to the size they feel. The rubber holds really well so they have stretched maybe a size or a full size larger.

Velcro is definitely a plus, as they aren't uncomfortable, but they are climbing shoes. Let's be honest, if your feet are comfortable, you're doing it wrong. The straps have held up great though, no significant wear or tear yet.

I would definitely recommend this shoe for someone who's breaking in to climbing and need a good, solid entrance shoe that will take a beating while learning how to use the feet. Evolv made a good shoe for its money.